Division One: DeFreitas on mission

By Rob Steen at Old Trafford

8:10PM BST 20 Apr 2002

Leicestershire (385 & 94-3) lead Lancashire (275 all out) by 204 runs

THE UNINTERESTED slope of the shoulders, the absence of visible aggression, the lackadaisical air. More scapegoat than escapologist, Phil DeFreitas paid a heavy price for his ineloquent body language during a Test career that fell narrowly short of the only 1,000 runs-100 wickets double by an Englishman in the post-Botham era. At 36, nevertheless, his zest for his trade remains undimmed, as Lancashire will grudgingly testify.

As anticipated, the oldies, golden and otherwise, hogged the spotlight here yesterday, albeit not in the manner expected. David Byas received what was quite possibly the warmest greeting ever accorded an ex-Yorkshire captain in Manchester: was that a tear in his eye a la Bradman or, at 38, were waning reflexes the cause of his first-ball duck?

DeFreitas was the recipient of that lbw verdict, his second wicket in as many balls, and the six he ultimately reaped deftly complemented Friday's 22-ball fifty: some chaps clearly hold bigger grudges against former employers than others.

These clubs have a worrying amount in common: batting line-ups that, due to retirement or discontent, have undergone various implants and plastic surgery; excessive reliance on the long of tooth (but for the clot in Neil Fairbrother's calf, the average age of both XIs would have been 30); and, in Alec Swann and Rob Cunliffe, erstwhile England Under-19 openers bent on turning fresh pastures into greener grass.

Considering he came to Grace Road after eight seasons with Gloucestershire trailing a first-class average of under 25, Cunliffe can count himself fortunate, a beneficiary of a hunch as well as the shallow depth of talent in the shires. Swann's half-dozen summers with Northants brought similarly negligible returns but, judging by his composed, patient 80, fruition may not be far away.

Stuart Law reeled off three centuries on successive days here for Essex last summer but this time Darren Maddy's outswinger confined him to a cameo. Only a typically brusque half-century from Graham Lloyd featuring consecutive sixes over third man was of any prolonged use to Swann, who played a muted second fiddle during a fourth-wicket stand of 85 in 13 overs and was eventually left aghast by Vince Wells's wicked lifter.

Had Wells not spilled the promising Kyle Hogg at slip, Lancashire would have been 230 for eight and might well have followed on.

Fittingly, the purgatorial mood was ended by Devon Malcolm, still playing merry hell with the traditional notions of fast- bowling mortality.